Inspector
General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase dropped a bombshell recently when
he called for psychiatric test on policemen. Mr. Arase, who spoke on
Tuesday, January 12, in Abuja at the Nigeria Police Force Health
Policy Revalidation forum, was quoted as saying that the force was
considering embarking on such exercise amid rising cases of police
extra-judicial killings in the country over the years.
Nigerians are unhappy that incidences of
policemen killing the citizens they are paid to protect have continued
to experience an upswing. Members of the public increasingly witness
security men firing at defenceless civilians, especially on the roads,
killing them with no justifiable reason.
On Thursday, April 11, 2013, for
instance, a policeman alleged to be on illegal duty at Daleko, in
Mushin, Lagos, shot and killed one Chrysantus Korie. It was an emotional
moment recently for his friends when they gathered to remember him.
Korie, 37, a psychology graduate from Imo
State University, Owerri, was killed by policemen who accosted him
demanding money. An eyewitness who was with him when the sad incident
happened said while he tried to figure out what to do next, shots rang
out from the gun of the policeman standing right in front of his car,
hitting him several times in the chest. He died instantly still strapped
to the wheels of his Toyota Highlander Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
Till date, all efforts made by his family and kinsmen to get justice all
came to naught.
Three month after, on August 20, 2013, a policeman allegedly killed an okada
rider in Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos, for disobeying the state’s traffic
law. The man identified as Kunle, was said to be a student of the
Federal University of Technology, Akure, who was using the motorbike he
was riding to make a living during one of the prolonged lecturers’
strikes which are commonplace in the nation’s university system.
Till this moment, anger over the killing
of Mr. John Chukwuemeka Okoro has not yet died down. On August 11, 2014,
two policemen identified as Corporal Agada Lawrence and Corporal
Kenneth allegedly killed Chukwuemeka, the son of Senator Fidelis Okoro,
former Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence. The incident was said to
have happened at Durumi in Abuja. The senator allegedly petitioned the
police alleging extra-judicial killing of his son. Investigations were
said to have been conducted and arrests made. But the outcome of the
efforts remains unknown to many.
Back in Lagos in May, 2015, a tricycle
operator, identified as Akeem Aranse, was allegedly shot dead by a top
police officer, an assistant superintendent of police, simply identified
as Mohammed, during an exchange of words. The dastardly incident
happened in Shasha, Akowonjo, a suburb of Lagos. Same year too, an
eyewitness recalled the gruesome murder of an official of a transport
union in Ijaiye area of Lagos by a soldier attached to Op Mesa (a police
and army patrol team) after the victim had delayed in giving the
soldier and policeman the bribe they usually collected from them on
daily basis.
And in September 2015, a police corporal
believed to be attached to Isheri-Oshun Division in Lagos, fired at a
tricycle on Isheri/ Ijegun road, killing a lady passenger, Idongesit
Ekpo, on the spot. The lady’s husband who was operating the tricycle was
also injured. No reason was given for the unwarranted action.
Then on December 27, 2015, Lagos
residents cringed at the news of the killing of the Oyesunle twins by a
policeman around Paulson Hotel, Ketu, Lagos. The security man identified
as Sergeant Steven James, also took his own life using the same service
rifle he used to kill Taiwo and Kehinde, thus forcing that mad moment
of avoidable tragedy to go full cycle.
In a bid therefore to ensure that
policemen do not continue in this tradition in the New Year, some
citizens have expressed worry over the incident. They want Mr. Arase to
restrain his men and prevent them from visiting mayhem on the people.
They also suggested measures to ensure that policemen under his watch do
not continue to exceed their boundaries in their daily encounters with
the citizenry.
Speaking on what the police and the
public should understand as extra-judicial killing, a lawyer, Mr. Pat
Anyadubalu, warned: “Life is sacred in the eye of the law and that is
why the Constitution unequivocally guarantees right to life.
“Any termination of life that does not
follow the dictates of the law is extra judicial. The term ‘extra
judicial,’ according to Black’s Law Dictionary 8th edition,
is acting ‘outside the functioning of the court system.’ Extra-Judicial
killing is one that is not authorised by the court.”
He noted that: “Section 33(1) of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended makes a
provision which is a fundamental right that every person has a right to
life and no person shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in
execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of
which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.
“Any killing of a human being by anybody,
police, soldier or mob that is not in compliance with the above
Constitutional provision is extra-judicial because it was not ordered by
the court.”
He added that “it is important to note
that Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria as amended provides that a person who is charged with a criminal
offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty.
“The place to prove a person guilty is the court of law and not at police custody. It is therefore ultra vires
of the powers of the police, soldier, mob or any other person to kill
anybody on the presumption that they have committed any offence, no
matter how grievous.”
Anyadubalu, however, averred that the
Criminal Code Act, Cap C-38 Laws of the Federation provides elaborately
on the self-defence.
“Section 286 provides thus: ‘These
sections of the Constitution and Criminal Code Act give the police,
anybody the right to self defence; therefore anybody who is violently
attacked by an alleged armed robber can lawfully defend themselves
without running foul of the law.”
Responding to the allegation that in some
cases policemen shoot their victim because they failed to part with
money or stop when asked to, he said: “Section 4 of Police Act Cap P 19,
Laws of Federation 2004 provides thus: ‘The police shall be employed
for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of
offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and
property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which
they are directly charged, and shall perform such military duties
within or outside Nigeria as may be required of them by, or under the
authority of this or any other Act.’
“It is therefore not part of the duty of
the policeman to demand or receive bribe. Any policeman who kills
anybody for refusing to give them bribe commits extra-judicial murder.
Police authorities have always treated policemen in this category by
first dismissing them and charging them with murder.
“A policeman does not have the legal
power to kill a motorist because they fail to stop at a check point. He
has power to arrest or even search or detain any person whom he
reasonably suspects of having in his possession or conveying in any
manner anything he has reason to believe to have been stolen or
otherwise unlawfully obtained.
“However, it is unlawful for a motorist
to disobey the police by refusing to stop when stopped. It is equally
unlawful for a policeman to kill a motorist just because he failed to
stop. There are other means to get the motorist like using the police
van or motorcycle to pursue the fleeing motorist.
“Where it becomes reasonably necessary to use gun, the police should aim at demobilising the car and not killing the motorist.
“Motorists are warned always to obey the
police whenever they are stopped and not tempt them to pull the trigger.
The consequence is always fatal. We say in our local lingo that, life
has no duplicate.”
Anydaubalu also suggested how incidences
of extra-judicial killings in the country could be stopped. “It should
start with the citizens. Members of the public should try and understand
the peculiar situation under which policemen work. Citizens should
appreciate that life has no alternative and avoid any situation that
might lead to loss of life.
“You do not argue with a man with gun.
Though it is not a justification for extra-judicial killing by any law
enforcement agents, the manner some citizens talk to policemen on the
road is dangerous and in some cases provocative.
“We should learn to be very diplomatic
with policemen, especially when they are on the road, under intense and
often unfriendly weather. Whenever the policeman is going beyond his
duty, motorists should try and see his senior officers who are in most
cases more approachable and understanding.
“Citizens should try and have all the
necessary documents relating to their vehicles and items in their
vehicles and as much as possible avoid engaging in altercation with the
police. Citizens, above all, should be law abiding because it is when
one runs against the law that they may fall prey and begin to compromise
the police.”
Responding, a retired assistant
commissioner of police, who preferred to be anonymous said: “I think the
problem does not lie with inadequate human rights training alone
because there is no policeman who does not understand the sanctity of
life. The problem is corruption and greed.
“Most recorded cases of extra-judicial
killing involving the police were not prompted by the need to fight
crime or arrest fleeing suspects but because of the victim’s refusal to
part with money.
“I recommend that policemen should
intermittently undergo psychological checks to determine their mental
state. This does not intend to ridicule the force. However, it is
necessary to stem the tide of extra-judicial killings. The Divisional
Police Officers should also check their men and reprimand those who
drink while on duty or under the influence of drugs.
“Adequate training on the use of drugs and guns and the consequence for the abuse, should be given to the police too.
“The state should not hesitate to punish
any policeman who abuses his office by killing any citizen without
justification.” He also recommended a restructuring of the training
programme of various police academies across the country to ensure that
they meet the needs of the times.
Sources;The sun news
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